Point Of View
by NyowTheMagicNeko
Summary: Artemis Entreri and Jaxlarle have been making a living for themslves as bounty hunters after destroying the Crystal Shard. But something is amiss in Entreri's world. He has lost the platform on which he had raised himself. Will he ever get it back?
1. Smoke and Mirrors

This fanfic is based right before the Hunters Blades trilogy, and is from the POV of Artemis Enteri. I had done this fanfic once before, ages ago, before I'd even read the Legacy of The Drow, but then I lost the first chapter. Do'H! So I decided to re-do it... In a slightly better style... At a slightly different point in time. Also, I'm crap when it comes to updates... so... uh... don't expect a lot of them.

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Forgotten Realms. Perhaps someday I will write my own FR book, and then I will, but that possible time is in the distant future... VERY distant future... And either way, I will never ever own anything of R.A. Salvatore's. He's just too brilliant for me to own anything of his.

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Point Of View  
Chapter One

Smoke and Mirrors.

_It's not that I agree with him... Oh no, far from it. But rather... Maybe he wasn't entirely wrong. When I was in Menzoberranzen, I looked into a mirror, and what I saw wasn't exactly pleasant. When I first met him in battle, he was the first to even come close to being my equal. And yet, still, he had that level of spirituality, and yes, even basic emotion, that I lacked. Later he proved that he was my equal, and more. Every time there has been a true conclusion to one of our many battles, it has always been he that has won. No longer do I deny that the battles were fair. They were as fair as any battle I have ever fought against a teacher, or even against a soon-to-be victim of my blades. It was simply the outcome that I thought was un-fair. And yes, even now I still think that. Why should I have been forced to give up so much to achieve what he has proven can be achieved without sacrificing anything? Perhaps it was simply the area I trained in. There were no friends for me there, and as my skills grew, and I surpassed my teachers, even they began to turn on me. Drizzt always had so much more than I ever did, and still, so much less. I believe that, had I thought to try, I could have found friends, but I never saw the point. Drizzt was born into a world where he had no such options. And yet, he was born into a world where he had allies from the start. His own father was much akin to him, or so my new traveling companion claims. "A man of great skills, and a sense of right and wrong far beyond that of most Drow. He was surpassed by one, and one alone. His own son, Drizzt Do'Urden." This simple statement worries me even more then Drizzt himself did. For you see, while the son had the father for support, the father had nobody. And yes, the father was an equally respected swordsman. Two elves was all it took to shatter the pedestal on which I had placed myself. I denied it at first, but I can no longer do that. He is better then me. I admit it. Never again can I claim to be the greatest swordsman ever known. Never again will I have my name whispered in the streets of Calimport as the only undefeated fighter, and the greatest assassin in the world. For I have been bested, and they know it. So I travel with Jarlaxle now. Hoping that no one will draw blades against us, for though I still can fight, the desire to do so is almost completely gone. It is silly I know. I have fought, and lost, for the first time. Should that really drop me so low? But it is more then that. I have fought and lost, and in losing, not only was I left with physical pain, but a mental one as well. Everything I ever thought I knew, everything I had discarded, all the time I spent perfecting my art, every kill I made without even batting an eye, all of it was for nothing. Because, I am not perfect. I don't know anything. I threw my life away for nothing. My almost religious belief that emotions are meaningless, and that sheer skill is the only path to achieve anything, has been turned from a brick wall into smoke. And now I have no hope of building it again by defeating him. Still, I go on. I have not completely given up yet. I am still skilled, far more then many others in the world, and although that no longer satisfies me, for now it will do, as it has for so many years. Perhaps there is something else in the world that can take the place of my pedestal, but I doubt it. I will not lower myself to a higher power, a so-called 'god', in an attempt to raise myself up as Cadderly, and so many other "goodly" priests do. 'Nor will I allow myself to fall into the trap of a sentient object to achieve my goals as Jarlaxle did. And I will certainly not follow the path of righteousness and justice as Drizzt did, and in such take comfort that I am doing the "right thing". As it is, I see nothing that appeals to me to replace my pedestal. And so I will travel, and live my life as, when, and how the fates decide. I will allow the world to take me for the unfeeling, albeit highly skilled, man that I am, and do with me as it will. And perhaps one day I will find my pedestal again in something else. Something that is meaningful to me. Until that day comes, I will continue to live my life in the shadows. For mine is the way of the assassin. And that is the way of smoke and mirrors._

–Artemis Entreri


	2. Three's A Crowd

Point of View Chapter Two Three's A Crowd

5:53 PM, Firesday, second week of Greenmoon

Artemis Entreri slipped silently through the evening shadows of the forest, weighing his every step as he approached the group of three hill giants. He knew they would never hear him, or see him, for they were stupid, noisy, and - in the state induced by their foul grog - far from alert. Still, ever the cautious one, he moved as stealthily as he could. Slipping his jeweled dagger out of his sheath, he crept closer to the camp, not making a sound. He wanted to kill the first one quickly so that the other two would be easy to finish off.  
Still, he knew that even three would not be so hard to defeat in this particular situation. This point was emphasized, for even as he silently slid his dagger into the back of one hill giant, another was suddenly hit with a series of five daggers in the neck. The third giant had barely even registered the death of his two companions when the man was upon him, slitting his throat from ear to ear. The three giants were dead in a matter of moments. Cleaning his dagger on the giant's shirt, he slipped it back into it's sheath and turned to face his flamboyant partner, who was just emerging from the woods.

"A job well done!" The elf said, smiling. "Three giants, one bounty. We will eat well this night!"

The man hardly shared his companion's enthusiasm, and simply frowned. Yes, they would probably eat well tonight... Assuming that they could get the giant's heads to whoever was offering the bounty, and receive that bounty, without being thrown out of the town, or simply attacked. For the elf he was traveling with was not just a regular elf. This elf was drow, and drow were not commonly accepted - albeit, not without reason - and that made it hard for the pair to do anything. And Jaxlarle - for that was the drow's name - would not tolerate being left behind. Somehow though, they always managed to make the kill and get the bounty. The two had been traveling together for some months now, and had earned themselves quite the reputation for being successful bounty hunters, perfect in their trade, amongst the small towns of the region. Even if one of them was a drow. So they weren't too bad off as far as getting their bounties went.  
Still, caution had kept Entreri alive for many years, and so he remained suspicious about this town, as he did for all these small towns.

"Let's get the heads off of these things, so we can get our bounty, and get out of this area." He said, still frowning. "I don't like this place."

Jaxlarle smiled at his very serious companion, and shook his head. "As you wish, master Entreri." He said sarcastically, bowing low with a flourish of his outrageous feathered hat. Pulling out what appeared to be a silver dagger, he whispered a few words, and he soon held a long, shining sword. Walking over to one of the giants he began to cut off it's head.  
Walking over to the giant who's throat he'd slit, the assassin began to do the same with his sword, the Charons Claw. The enchanted blade was quick to do it's work, and soon he had one disembodied giants head. He glanced over to see Jaxlarle already starting on the head of the third. Entreri sighed, cleaned his blade on the giant's shirt, and put it away at his hip. He sighed as the elf lifted an ugly, gore-dripping head from the body of the third giant, and threw it into a dark canvas bag with the first one. Strolling up to the elf with the bag, he dropped the last head in.  
"Lets go." Entreri growled, taking the bag from the elf, and swinging it over his shoulder. He was getting jumpy. Something was VERY wrong about this place, and it was almost half-a-days walk to the nearest village. He wanted to get horses with the money from these heads, and then get out of the whole area.  
Jaxlarle was picking up on his companion's mood, and it was making HIM jumpy. Yes, he could feel the strangeness in the air - better then Entreri by far! But unlike Entreri, he knew what it was. Magic. A lot of it. Still, there was no malicious feel to it and although it was heavy and thick it did not appear to be dangerous. So he was trying to brush off the feeling, and keep up his spirits... Which Entreri was making very difficult. He sighed and lengthened his stride to keep up with the nervous assassin.

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Several hours away, in the middle of a small town sat a large house. It was grand compared to the other houses, and it even had guards standing in front of the steps and pillars that it boasted, but it wasn't large enough to be called a mansion. In absolute reality it did not exist. But it was solid, and textured, and was a perfect mimic of a real house. Somewhere inside of it, the scent of veal wafted from a kitchen that also did not exist. And deep in the back of the house, behind all else, was a large dark room. Part of this room was at least real. And it was in this part - perched on an not real chair - that Tallah sat. Her appearance was also not real. The long dark hair, and pale skin her body sported was not hers - and neither was the long slender figure she had. Even her long black dress and veil was not really there. But she was there... And so was the perfectly clear orb that sat on a pedestal in front of her. She smiled as two figures swam across the smooth surface and faded. They were coming - and that was good. Everything was falling into place. She was bored, and had been sent on a mission by her gods... It was a challenge, her mission was... And the rewards were great if she could succeed. She leaned back in her chair, and smiled. This was going to be fun.

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8:37 AM, Starsday, second week of Greenmoon

"Alright, enough! We are almost there... It's past time for you to slow down!" Jaxlarle shouted as he watched his companion grow ever smaller as he got further ahead. The figure - already on the next in a series of rolling hills stopped, and turned. Jaxlarle dashed the rest of the way down the hill he was on, and up the next. He was feeling the effects of the ever growing magic as well - but while Entreri sped up to get it over with, the mercenary slowed down to ponder the implications of all the energy. In fact - they almost hadn't stopped for the night because of the assassin. The result was that the man had gotten very far ahead - and the drow ended up very far behind. Still, he wasn't exactly slow, and was soon completely caught up with his human companion.  
"You really shouldn't leave me behind like that. I'm not going to be able to get through the gates without you." Jaxlarle said with a huff. Entreri just smiled. "And what a shame that would be." He said before turning on his heels and walking swiftly down the hill to the town below. Jaxlarle frowned and followed close behind.

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9:08 AM, Starsday, second week of Greenmoon

Artemis Entreri, master assassin and his drow companion were apparently not un-heard of in this small town, so the gate-guards swiftly let the pair through. According to them, their lord had been killed by three giants as he hunted foxes and their lady - Lady Aka - was grieving in the master house... And would be gladdened by the news that her husband's killers were now dead - no matter who they were killed by.  
"See now!" Jaxlarle exclaimed as he strode through the gates and into the main road. "I told you it would be easy... We will eat well tonight!" He spread his arms out wide, as the few people that were out scampered into their houses. Nobody wanted to be around the stone-faced man and a drow elf.  
Entreri frowned. It was very quiet... And something that had been gnawing at him since the day he entered the area was growing far worse, each step he took into the town. Still, he hadn't killed the giants out of the kindness of his heart... So he forced himself to walk down the main street towards the large house. He would collect his reward, then leave as fast as he could.

Moments later the pair was standing in a large dark room, and seated in the smaller of two chairs in the room was a woman. Tall, frail, and dressed in all black she was - with pale skin, thin red lips and soft brown eyes that were obscured by a black veil. Entreri studied her carefully before turning the blood soaked canvas bag upside-down before her. Three large, ugly heads rolled out and onto the floor. Her soft eyes widened, and she shrieked with horror.  
"Ahh! How could you do something to horribly disgusting!? Is it not enough that my husband is dead, and I must now grieve for him, and rule in his stead? You must come here and remind me of my horror, by throwing the heads of those who killed him at me!?" She quickly broke down sobbing, and two men in full armor came in. "Take your payment and leave!" She shrieked and threw a small leather bag at their feet before running out of the room.  
Jaxlarle smiled at Entreri as they were roughly escorted out of the town by the armored men. "See! I told you - easy! Though, alas! We'll have to wait until we reach the next village to eat well. I'm afraid you ruined our chances of eating well in this town with that stunt back there"  
Entreri frowned as he looked back at the tall wooden wall behind him, and the two closed doors that made up the gates of the city. No horses this time he supposed. Still, he was out of the city, and the strange pressure in the air was significantly lessened. He looked up at the sky and nodded. "I did ruin it. But we have food. We will just make for the next city. Then I want to purchase some horses and leave to area. I dislike it here"  
Jaxlarle looked at the assassin with exaggerated disappointment. "What? No burning down the village? What a quiet, peaceful, disappointing person you have become, Entreri! Alas - for the best of us always seem to fall short!" He swung his pack over his shoulder once more, and began the walk down the hill. "Well, let us be off! We've three days until we hit the next town! A shame that they are spread so far apart"  
Entreri nodded, and headed after the drow - happy to finally be leaving... Or as happy as the cold man ever got. Perhaps now they would be free of the strange air that had followed them ever since they heard of the bounty for the giants.

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9:32 AM, Starsday, second week of Greenmoon

Tallah smiled. So that was the fabled Artemis Entreri and his drow companion. Cool, cold and collected... And obviously very suspicious of the magic in the city. She didn't blame him... The magic was easy to feel. Having an entire town made of nothing but illusions was hard work and required saturating the area with magic. She ran her fingers over her face and down her hair, turning her eyes from brown to gold and her hair from long and black to shoulder-length and a flaming dark-red. Everything was going exactly as she had planned.


End file.
